Robyn Stone
Gingerbread Cookies Recipe – Gingerbread cookies are a favorite Christmas cookie recipe and this gingerbread cookie recipe will become a favorite with a few special ingredients!
Gingerbread cookies were not my favorite cookies growing up. To be completely honest, I never really cared for them until about five years or so ago when I decided that I was going to create a gingerbread cookie that I absolutely loved.
My ultimate gingerbread cookie had a few requirements:
– it had to be full of gingerbread spice without being overwhelming
– it had to be soft and tender, yet hold up well for baking, decorating, and sharing with friends
– my whole family had to love it
Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
It seemed a bit daunting, but I was determined. For a few days, I tried tweak after tweak, until finally, I did it. I’d made the perfect gingerbread cookies for my family.
If you are a gingerbread cookie lover, then you may spot a few ingredients that aren’t normal for gingerbread cookies. Those are part of my tweaks to make them perfect for our tastes. I’m certainly not saying these are the perfect gingerbread cookies for every family, but for mine, we don’t want them any other way.
Make Ahead Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
These Gingerbread Cookies make an excellent make-ahead cookie recipe. Simply prepare the cookie dough as instructed through the first chilling. Roll out the dough as instructed and cut out the cookies as desired. Place the cookie cut outs on the prepared baking sheet and place into the freezer until firmly frozen, about 30 minutes. Place into an airtight, freezer-safe container layering cookies between parchment paper. Freeze up to 3 months.
When ready to serve, bake from frozen adding about 3 to 5 minutes to the baking time.
Here’s my gingerbread cookies recipe. I hope you love them as much as we all do!
Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- confectioner's sugar for dusting work surface
Instructions
- Cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in molasses and mix until well-combined. Mix in cinnamon, ginger, cloves, espresso powder, vanilla and the egg until well-combined.
- Whisk together baking powder and baking soda into the flour and then slowly stir these dry ingredients into the molasses mixture.
- Divide the dough in half, and wrap well. Refrigerate for 1 hour up to 8 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- Once the dough has chilled, take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and dust a clean work surface with confectioner's sugar, and the dough. Roll it out as thin or thick as you like; for slightly less crisp cookies, roll it out more thickly.
- Use confectioner's sugar under and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to the table or rolling pin.
- Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and place onto prepared baking sheets.
- Bake gingerbread cookies until they are lightly browned along the edges, about 12 minutes, or until they feel firm. Let the cookies cool completely before decorating, if desired.
Nutrition Information
Happy Baking!
Robyn xo
These do look perfect! So cute.
Adorable! Your photos make them come alive.
Robyn, Like you, I’ve always loved gingerbread, but have never found the perfect recipe for cookies that come out soft but crisp on the edges. Can’t wait to try yours. Laura
These are so adorable! We love holiday cookie baking!
These are just too stinking cute!
These are adorable!
I never liked them either and mainly because I hate hard dry crisp cookies so can’t wait to try these. Thanks!
I LOVE gingerbread cookies. If it weren’t for gingerbread everything I might not love this time of year quite as much 🙂
Hi Robyn! The cookies look beautiful and I can’t wait to try them out! I was just wondering if it would completely ruin the recipe if I substituted the molasses for golden syrup?
Hi, just wanted to share- I made these the other week and have handed them out to neighbours and our daycare providers and the overwhelming response has been “these are the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever had”. Everyone has asked for the recipe! The unique touches of this recipe truly make the difference.
Merry Christmas!
Hi, am going to try these, they look delicious! One question, can the espresso powder be replaced by arabica coffee powder or omitted? I can’r find espresso powder where I live. Let me know, thanks!
Very delicious. I made these for my family’s Christmas Eve Party and they went very fast. I grabbed three to save for Santa before there were none. Thanks Robyn and Happy New Year!
I was wondering what icing recipe you used to ice the gingerbread cookies?
I used my cookie icing recipe. Here’s the link: https://addapinch.com/cooking/cookie-icing-recipe/
Are these cookies firm enough to hang on the Christmas tree?
I made them this year and everybody loved them. Thank you! Definitely will be doing these again!
That’s great! Thanks so much, Paris! xo
Fantastic! I made them for my son’s namesday to share with his friends in goody bags and everybody loved them! The espresso addition is such a must! Subbed molasses for lovely Erica honey, thanks again for sharing.
Hey Robyn! I just tried these and loved the flavor , but the dough was really soft when I rolled it out so I was having difficulty lifting the cutouts off. I used a silicone mat for rolling with plenty of flour. Any pointers? Happy holidays!
Hello Robyn and thank you for this great recipe! I have one question, though. What could be used in place of coffee? I don’t drink coffee and don’t care for that flavor in things. Perhaps cocoa strong black tea?
Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!
My 11-year old daughter just made these for Christmas and used the classic vanilla buttercream frosting recipe to decorate them. The only change she made was to omit the espresso powder. They were chewy and delicious and had the perfect blend of spices.